Following the first successful “Orphan Day” in October 2007, the UNESCO Club at AUB continued drawing smiles on orphans’ faces in a similar event. Coinciding with both new years and hoping for an optimistic start in both years of 2008 and 1429; “New Beginnings” was the title of the second orphan day that was held on Saturday, the 5th of January 2008 at AUB.
Around fifty orphans aged 10 to 14, from four villages in the Lebanese Association of SOS Children’s Villages were welcomed by UNESCO Club members at 10:00 am. The fun program that was already planned for started as the orphans stepped into AUB for their first visit ever. Upon their request, a campus tour was given for the orphans; where they showed interest in the Banyan trees, historical buildings and of course the cats. “This was the best part of the visit,” Dina, an orphan, commented after taking the campus tour. Following the upper campus tour, the orphans headed to West Hall where they gathered in room 400 for several recreational games. Tina Yamout, a Star Academy participant, surprised the audience and participated in several games that took place until lunch time. The orphans enjoyed the donkey tail game and engaged in music while playing the chairs game and unwrapping the gift game.
The kids took pleasure in having a delicious meal from Burger King, where they fueled up with two burgers. Following lunch, the children were taken to room 204 where they watched “Ice Age 2” with Arabic audio and Arabic subtitles. “I wish you screened a romance movie or an action movie!” Sara, an orphan, argued after watching “Ice Age 2.” “Due to the variation of the age of the orphans, it was hard to find a movie that would suit all ages; therefore this was the best choice,” Nour Hammami, the UNESCO Club vice president, said. By 3:00 pm, the event came to an end as the orphans received a goodie bag from Epi Dor (Abu Naji) and an UNESCO t-shirt before leaving AUB campus back to their orphanages. The orphans left with big smiles on their faces and wished that they will be able to come back once again soon.
The club started planning for this event since December 2007 and gathered various amounts of donations from students, staff, friends and Abu Naji. Following the second orphan day, the UNESCO Club is also preparing for a second workshop in February 2008.